Distance!
by Kristol Midnite
Summary: It feels just like yesterday when we were put on the same team. We shared good memories, we shared our fears and we truly became like a family. Back then, I always had to look at both of your backs. That's why I swore I would close the distance between all of us. SasuFemnaru
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfic! Yay! Just an FYI, my grammar is really bad...ya. Also, I am not sure how often I am going to update this fic (maybe I will if people review). Please do not flame me! Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

**Disclamer: NARUTO does not belong to me! If it did, I would have released Road to Ninja sooner!**

**Speaking of Road to Ninja, anyone else excited about it? I can't wait until April (which just happens to be my birthday month! Yay!)**

**Anyway, here is the first chapter of Distance!**

* * *

"It's been more than two years…" A girl with blonde pigtails said to her mentor.

"So it has…" The man replied. As the duo walked through Konoha's entrance, the gate guards looked towards them and recognized two familiar faces.

"Looks like they're back." Izumo observed. The blonde was a step ahead of her teacher, eager to see all her friends. Her long pigtails flowed behind her as the young kunoichi jogged towards a power pole that was on the side of a street. When she became close enough to touch the pole, she slid her dark-colored backpack off her shoulders and used chakra to walk up it. After she reached the top, her arms spread out to create a "t" shape with her body.

"Helllooo Konoha! You haven't changed at all!" She exclaimed to no one in particular while observing the view.

"Huh?" Immediately, the girl's attention was drawn towards Hokage Mountain.

"Haha! Tsunade-baachan is up there now!" She said amused.

"All grown up, eh, Naruto?" The girl quickly turned her head in response to the voice. Once she saw the owner of the voice, she couldn't contain her excitement and shouted, "Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi was sitting on a nearby roof reading Make Out Paradise.

"Yo!" He saluted in response. Naruto jumped off the electric pole and landed on the roof that Kakashi was sitting on. Upon inspection, Kakashi didn't look like he aged a day since Naruto had left.

"Oh ya, I almost forgot!" Naruto swiftly reached into her beige pouch and grabbed an object out. "I have something for you!" She announced. Kakashi looked at her in confusion.

"Tada!" Naruto burst out. In her right hand, she held a green covered book titled "Make-Out Tactics".

"WHAT?! NARUTO…YOU!" Kakashi grabbed the book gently with both of his hands and noted how it shined with a radiant new book glow.

"It's the latest in the Make-Out Series, Y'know. Figured you'd want it 'cause you're always reading that other porn book."

_Fool! It's not a porn book! It's an artistic masterpiece! Plus THAT is an advanced copy!_

* * *

"Show of hands… Who wants Ichiraku Ramen?!" Naruto asked not expecting an answer. The blonde raised her hand high as she ran towards her favorite ramen restaurant without waiting for Kakashi and Jiraiya.

"Woah!" Naruto stopped in her tracks when she spotted of a feminine, pink figure that stood in the middle of the street. "S..Sakura-chan?"

The pink haired girl turned around and saw Naruto standing right behind her. Sakura was holding a couple of scrolls against her chest. Her hair was still short, but her usual dress was replaced with a shirt and skirt combination.

"Naruto? You're back!" Sakura said in awe. "I almost didn't recognize you! You hardly look like that short tomboy you once were." Naruto grinned in triumph and laughed bashfully.

"Hmm… but you still have a crappy sense of style." The other kunoichi continued, "That orange jumpsuit is just plain ugly." Naruto twitched in anger and yelled,"What's wrong with my jumpsuit?!" She was huffing and puffing because of the insult that was thrown her way.

"Would it hurt you to dress like a girl for once?" Sakura sighed as she placed a hand on her forehead.

"MY JUMPSUIT IS FINE THE WAY IT IS!"

"Whatever you say, Fishcake."

"DON'T CALL ME…" The blonde kunoichi was about to explode with rage, but was stopped by Sakura's voice.

"Oh… I forgot to tell you." Sakura interrupted. "Tsunade-sama wants Team 7 to meet up in her office."

"Tsunade-baachan?"

"Ya…but I have to run this errand for her. So I guess I'll see you later!" Sakura took off and ran in a hurry.

* * *

"Wonder what baa-chan wants…" Naruto thought out loud as they walked towards Tsunade's office. She waited a split second before knocking on the door twice.

"Come in" A voice boomed from the other side of the door. Naruto turned the knob and pushed the door forward. She saw Tsunade sitting at her desk reading papers. As usual, Tsunade's desk was filled with piles of paper work.

"Aah, Naruto. Welcome back." After Tsunade looked at all the people who entered, she questioned the group, "Where's the rest of Team 7?" Naruto lifted her shoulders in response and explained, "Probably just running late." Tsunade sighed and place the papers on top of the enormous pile.

"I sent Sakura on an errand a while ago. Why is she taking so long?!" The Hokage complained. As if on cue there was a knock on the door followed by someone entering the room. Naruto turned around, expecting Sakura to have returned, but instead it was a male figure.

"Sai!" The blonde said surprised. She ran up to him and smiled.

"I see you've returned. Have you gotten any stronger?"

"Of course. What did you expect?" Naruto grinned and made a thumbs up gesture. Suddenly, Sai patted her head and commented, "You're still a squirt." Then he let one of his famous fake smiles show through.

"What did you say, bastard?!"

"I simply stated the fact that you're short, fishcake." Sai replied, calling Naruto the nickname he deemed her, knowing that it would piss her off.

"I have a bone to pick with you about that name! Ever since you started calling me that, everyone else decide to call me that as well! Do you know how annoying it is?! DO YOU?!"

Then Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Enough with the emotional reunion. Now that you both are here, Kakashi." Kakashi closed his new book and started to explain what was going on to Sai and Naruto.

"Wow it sure has been a while. From here on out, you two..."

"Are going to be apart of my team **again."**

* * *

_It feels just like yesterday when we were placed on the same team_

_We shared good memories_

_We shared our fears_

_We truly became like a family_

_Back then, I always had to look at both of your backs_

_That's why I swore_

_I would close the distance between all of us_

_I've finally gotten Sai to acknowledge me_

_Why won't you, Sasuke?_

_Ne, Sasuke, Even now I still wear this necklace as a reminder of Team Seven's promise._

_I will never break my promise._

_I will bring you out of the darkness_

_Because you are my precious friend_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! I have decided to have the storyline take place before the time skip. There are a couple of reasons for this. **

**I want to delve deeper into the relationships between the "new" Team 7.**

**I am planning to change the storyline drastically because of many (explainable) reasons. If I solely write after the time skip, it may become rushed and confusing.**

**BUT don't worry, there will be sections of chapters (or maybe even whole chapters) dedicated towards the after the time skip drama! _**

**I apologize for Sai's OOCness. In this story he will be a much more….(whats the word?) emotion showing person. This is because Shin has not died yet. Before Shin died, Sai was very emotional (compared to how he is now) and I want to keep this story (mostly) true to the original character's personalities. Since I do not know where exactly in the Naruto timeline Sai's back story goes, I'm just assuming that Shin died when they were around 14 and 15 years old.**

**Thank you to ****Layellee, Limz375, Tansy Moon, kitsuneki, NoTengoUnNombre, and Dragon-of-Chaos!**

**Anyway, I do not own Naruto in any way, shape or form.**

**Chapter One: The New Team Seven!**

Two young boys were sitting together eating dinner. All of a sudden, the door opened and in stepped Danzo.

"Danzo-sama? Why are you here?" Shin asked the older man. They stopped eating and stood up to greet him. Sai and Shin lived in a small cabin far away from the village. This was to make sure that nothing would distract the duo from training. Originally, Danzo intended to keep them isolated until one killed the other, but because of the change in plans, things had to be arranged differently.

"Sai. There's something that I want you to do." The pale boy wore a long-sleeved gray shirt that matched the color of his pants. He stared at Danzo, his eyes filled with hesitation. Then he nodded his head once to signal that he understood.

A Couple Months Later

"Next, cell number seven. Sasuke Uchiha and…" Naruto's head whipped up when Iruka mentioned Sasuke's name. Her eyes widened and she tightly clasped her hands together.

'_Don't say my name. Don't say my name. DON'T SAY MY NAME! DON'T PUT ME WITH THAT BASTARD!' _She chanted inside her head.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The blonde's face contorted with disgust transforming into something humanly impossible. Then she swiftly stood up from her seat.

"Iruka-sensei, why did you have to put me, an amazing kunoichi, with the likes of _HIM_?!"

"Out of the 26 of you, Sasuke has the best grades, Naruto. You however, are at the bottom of the class."

"Hn… Just don't drag me down…_Dobe_." People could see steam rise from Naruto as she twitched in anger. A vein was protruding out of the girl's forehead making her seem even more pissed.

"Why, you-" A fight was just about to ensue, but Sakura interrupted Naruto with an obvious question that was directed towards Iruka.

"Sensei, didn't you say that we'd be divided into three-man cells? Who is the last person on team seven?"

'_They have to put me with Sasuke-kun!' _Sakura's inner-self shouted with passion.

"As you know, we only have 26 people who graduated this year. Since there was a shortage of students, another ninja has decided to join this graduating class. He will be joining team seven this afternoon."

"Another person?"

"Yes. His name is Sai. He has been trained personally by Danzo, one of the village elders. I believe that he is one year older than you guys." All of the girls in the room deflated. Depression filled the air as soon as the information sank in. None of them would be in the same team as Sasuke. The only girl who had him all to herself was the loud and obnoxious Naruto (who wanted nothing to do with the duck butt).

'_I just hope Sai isn't an arrogant butt-chunk like Sasuke… I don't wanna have to deal with two arrogant bastards.' _

"All right! Your instructors will be coming this afternoon. Until then, you are dismissed." Iruka announced to the group of kids. All of them exited the room quickly, except for the "Sasuke Fan Club" which consisted of all the girls (not counting Naruto and Hinata). They all grouped together and sobbed like maniacs. Poor Iruka, not knowing what to do with the hormonal girls, awkwardly inched out of the room and ran away.

* * *

"Hinata-chan!" Hinata turned around to see Naruto running towards her. "Let's eat together!"

"Oh…Sorry, Naruto…I'm eating lunch with my team." Hinata hesitantly replied. After seeing the blonde's smiling face droop to a sad frown, Hinata offered another suggestion. "Maybe you could also eat with your teammates!"

"Are you kidding me?! Eat with Sasuke?! Who in their right mind would wanna do that?!"

"Those girls apparently," The Huuga responded while she pointed to a bunch of sad girls walking away.

"Che…I don't know what they see in that girly-man." A bitter face showed itself upon Naruto's face, making Hinata giggle quietly. Realization dawned Hinata and she frantically apologized.

" I'm sorry. It's getting late, I should probably go eat with Kiba and Shino. See you later Naruto!" Hinata bid her goodbyes once she realized her new teammate's disappearance.

* * *

Sakura was sitting on a bench thinking about her new team.

'_Why couldn't I be placed with Sasuke?'_

"Hi Sakura-chan! Wanna eat together?" Naruto exclaimed as she walked up to the other kunoichi.

'_She's lucky to be in Sasuke's team.'_

"S..sure…I guess." Sakura stuttered. Sadness was dripping off her words. Naruto couldn't help but feel bad for the fellow kunoichi. The blonde sat next to Sakura and started a conversation.

"Even if you're not in Sasuke's team, you'll still see him. Don't worry, the world isn't ending yet!" She desperately tried to liven up the pinkette's mood. After a long silence, Sakura spoke in a whisper, "I just wanted him to notice me." Suddenly, Naruto connected with Sakura and decided to give her a word of advice.

"If you want acknowledgement, become strong."

"What?"

"When you're strong, people will be forced to acknowledge you." Naruto exclaimed giving her a thumbs-up. Sakura was struck by her words.

'_Is this why Naruto wants to become Hokage? Does she just want to be respected?' _Sakura couldn't help but smile at her.

"Thanks…Naruto."

"Huh? Did you say something?…. Aaaah! We're gonna be late!" Naruto screeched. "Hurry up, Sakura-chan!" She started to run ahead of Sakura, worried that she was going to get scolded by Iruka.

"Coming!" Sakura stood up, and never looked back.

**TBC**

**So… Please review! I want to hear your opinions! Should I make the chapters longer?**

**Sorry about the short chapter. I promise the next one will be longer!**

**Just to let you know, I probably won't update the next chapter as quickly. This is because I have no idea what I should do with Sai… Any ideas? By this I mean abilities. **

**If more people review with feedback, maybe I'll have more inspiration to write!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm on a roll! Here's chapter three! Sigh… okay guys! Sorry if this story seems off compared to the original storyline.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!**

'_**italicized' = thoughts**_

**Chapter Three: Hatake Kakashi!**

"Sai, I have placed you with the newly graduated students for one reason. You must keep tabs on Sasuke Uchiha."

'_This must be why Danzo-sama gave me this code name some time ago.' _Sai thought, making an inference.

"I will be placing you on the same team as Sasuke. Any odd behavior that he exhibits must be reported to me immediately. Understand?"

"What about Shin-niisan? Will he be coming as well?"

"No. I plan to keep him here away from the village to train. You will be living in an apartment inside the village walls for the time being." The corners of Sai's mouth dropped into a frown, showing his displeasure at the fact that he wouldn't be living with his brother. "Pack and be ready to leave by tomorrow." Danzo curtly said before walking out of the house. The tension in the air dissipated which cause Sai to sigh in relief.

"Don't be such a downer! I'm sure he'll let you visit sometimes! Plus you'll make lots of friends in Konoha!" Shin tried to encourage Sai.

"But…"

"Oh! I almost forgot! Here, I got you a present." In his hand, Shin held a green book offering it to Sai.

"A sketchbook?!" Sai's face displayed disbelief and happiness towards the present.

"When I was in town I bought one for you."

"Hmm…but I don't know what to draw in it." After debating on what to draw, he finally stated, "I know! I'll draw us together, nii-san!" Shin couldn't help but smile at Sai's innocent and determined face.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the book completed."

"Un!"

* * *

'_This is a first. The dobe is being quiet for once…Might as well enjoy the silence while it lasts…' _Sasuke thought to himself. They were waiting for their jounin to arrive. He closed his eyes and wondered what was wrong with the blonde.

'_I….I….I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'_ Naruto was clutching her head unsure of what to do. She was alone in the classroom with Sasuke. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop on the floor.

"UGH!" She yelled breaking the uncomfortable silence. Naruto stood up and walked right in front of Sasuke. "SASUKE! LETS FIGHT! RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

"….What?"

"You heard me! I wanna fight you!"

"Right now?" Sasuke sighed obviously annoyed by Naruto's loud voice.

"Ya! I'll show you how strong I've become! Believe it!"

'_What a pain in the ass…'_

Without warning, the door swung open. In stepped a pale boy who wore pants, and a long-sleeved, gray shirt. His pale complexion stood out against his black eyes and hair, which caused him to look sickly.

"Umm… Is this where I'm supposed to meet my instructor?" The pale boy asked Sasuke and Naruto.

"Are you Sai?" Naruto questioned the newcomer.

"Yes… that would be me."

"Aah!" Naruto walked up to Sai and greeted him. "Nice to meet ya! My name's Naruto!" She looked at the door behind Sai and an idea started to form in her mind. "Ehehe…" A sly smirk appeared on Naruto's face as she looked around. After Naruto checked that no one was outside, the kunoichi dashed around the room to gather a certain object she needed.

"Oi, could you move for a sec?" The blonde directed towards Sai.

"Eh? Sure." Naruto climbed onto a table so that she could reach the top of the door. The sliding door was opened just enough so that it could hold the chalkboard eraser in place.

"It's what he gets for making us wait!" Naruto exclaimed while she jumped off the table.

"Hnn. There's no way a jounin could be caught by such a simple booby trap." Sasuke commented. Everyone heard the door start to creak open. Then, a man with silver hair and tired, droopy eyes (or rather, just one eye) walked into the classroom. This was followed by the eraser falling on his head, which caused a cloud of chalk to disperse above the jounin's head.

"Haha! Gotcha!" Naruto said pointing to the silver-haired man.

'_So…this is our instructor? He looks completely worthless!' _Sasuke thought, questioning how serious this jounin was.

"Hmm…How should I put this? Based on my first impression, I'd have to say… I hate you!" All the genin in the room sweat dropped with his blunt comment.

* * *

"Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves." Kakashi explained to his team. They all sat down on the roof above the classes.

"Like what?" Sai asked Kakashi who was sitting on the railing.

"…You know. The usual. What you like and hate, dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."

"Help us out here sensei. You go first. Show us how it's done."

"Oh…me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business… but anyway, I have lots of hobbies." A bored expression graced itself upon Kakashi's face.

"Do you think we're stupid? All you really mentioned was your name!" Sai retorted. Naruto and Sasuke thought the same thing.

"Haha…Is that so? I never even realized." Their teacher said after he forcefully laughed.

'_Whatever!' _All the genin thought at the same time.

"Now it's your turn. Starting with you on the right." Naruto made eye contact with Kakashi and started to speak.

"Me right? My name is Uzumaki Naruto. What I like is instant cup ramen. What I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to Ichiraku Ramen. What I hate is the three-minute wait after I pour in the boiling water. My dream is..."

'_Is the only thing on this girl's mind ramen?' _Kakashi thought questioning how serious she was about being a ninja.

"...to one day be a better shinobi than Lord Hokage!" After hearing Naruto's response, Sai started to question what his dream was. He never thought about goals that he wanted to carry out. Every day was training, and training, and (surprise, surprise) more training. No time was given towards thinking about the future.

"Next!" Kakashi instructed. He pointed towards Sasuke whose fingers were laced together. The young boy's elbows rested on his knees. This caused the intertwined hands to be placed right in front of his mouth.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like..."

'_Emo much?' _Naruto questioned.

"It seems pointless to talk about 'dreams'... that's just a word."

'_Yup...Definitely emo...' _The blonde clarified.

"...but what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan."

'_He's determined...to restore his clan? ...I blame it on the hormones...'_ Sai commented wondering why the boy was so determined to reproduce. He'd have plenty of time for that in the future. Why worry about it at such a young age?

"And there's someone I have sworn...to kill."

'_...I suspected as much...' _Kakashi thought, being the only person who took Sasuke's speech seriously.

"And finally..."

"You can call me Sai. I like drawing and calligraphy. I've never really thought about dreams or ambitions... Instead, what I hope for is... to spend as much time as I can with my brother..." Sasuke's eyes darkened at the mention of a brother.

"Now that we're finished with introductions, I believe we all understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow." The silver-haired man announced.

"All right!" Naruto exclaimed with delight. She pumped two fists in the air to show her excitement.

"Our first project involves only the members of this cell."

"What is it? What?" The kunoichi couldn't contain her excitement and asked Kakashi the same question repeatedly.

"Survival exercises. It won't be your typical practice."

"Well then, what kind of practice will it be?" Kakashi started to laugh at the question. All the genin had no clue what was going on. Sai came to the conclusion that Hayashi was crazy.

"If I told you, you'd chicken out."

"Why? What do you mean?" Sai questioned.

"Out of all the students of your graduating class, only nine will actually be accepted as genin. The other eighteen must go back for more training. The test we are about to perform has a 66 percent rate of failure."

"Whaaaat? What about our graduation test?!" Naruto couldn't believe what her teacher was saying. All her hard work was for naught.

"Oh! We wanted to drop the hopeless cases from your ranks."

"SAY WHAT?!"

"In any event, we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can test each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all of your ninja tools and weapons. And don't have breakfast beforehand. Unless you enjoy throwing up. The details of your assignment are in this handout. Memorize it and don't be late!"

'_Th...throw up?!'_

'_I should probably bring Make-Out Paradise with me tomorrow.' _Kakashi thought before he left the premises.

* * *

**Yay! Finally done! This is the longest chapter I have written (it's still really short...sigh)!**

**Please Review! Pretty, pretty, please with a cherry on top? _**


	4. Chapter 4

**The ending song, Sayonara Memory has inspired me to write this chapter! Also episode 194 of Naruto Shippuden. SasuNaru forever~**

'_Thoughts'_

"Speaking"

**Chapter Four: Ready, Set, Go!**

The Next Day...

An alarm went off in Naruto's apartment. She yawned, stretched, and got ready for the full day ahead of her. Her stomach growled signaling that she was hungry, but instead Naruto suppressed the urge to eat because of her teacher's warning.

"Crap! I'd better go!"

Naruto eventually arrived at the training grounds, only to find Sasuke already there. A few minutes later, Sai entered the field exactly on time. After 30 minutes of waiting for Kakashi, Naruto started to get impatient.

"Jeez... Where is he?" Naruto complained. Then she sat down on the grass with her legs crossed. Eventually, an hour passed, then an hour turned into two hours. Even Sai was getting irritated. Just as Naruto was about to throw a fit, Kakashi appeared with a bag on his back.

"Good morning, class!" The one-eyed jounin greeted as he held his right hand up to wave.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

The group walked towards a desolate field on the edge of the training grounds. There, stood three wooden stumps that were perpendicular to the ground. Kakashi placed his backpack down and grabbed a timer out of the main pocket. He placed it on top of the middle stump and set the timer to noon.

"I have here two small bells. Your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. Anyone who fails..." Kakashi explained, pointing to the stumps, "...doesn't get any lunch. Instead you will be tied to that tree stump, so I can eat your lunch in front of you."

'_So that's why you wanted us to go without breakfast!' _The genin thought. Their stomachs growled in disapproval.

"All you need is just one bell...a piece. But since there aren't enough to go around, one of you is definitely headed for the stump. Whoever that is will be the first of you to fail. One of you is on your way back to school...a disgrace." Silence consumed the genin. No one dared to move. Kakashi clutched the bells in his hand, hiding them from view. Afterward, he instructed, "You may, if you choose, use shuriken. Attack as though you mean to kill or you'll never stand a chance."

"You couldn't even dodge an eraser! You're gonna get killed!"

"Only the weak speak loudly. Now let's forget the idiot and we'll start on my signal!" The word idiot echoed inside Naruto's head. She growled, obviously angered. In an instant, the blonde kunoichi grabbed a kunai from her pouch, twirled it around her middle finger, and roughly clasped it within her hand. Naruto charged towards Kakashi, not thinking clearly about her actions. Before she could get close, Kakashi stopped her. The jounin grabbed Naruto's hand which held the kunai knife and placed his palm on top of her head. He twisted her hand, making the kunai face the back of her head.

"Not so fast. I didn't say, 'Go.'"

'_He is pretty sufficient in taijutsu...it might not be best to face him head on by myself...' _Sai thought, strategizing an easy win.

'_So this is an elite shinobi...' _Sasuke observed.

"But at least you struck to kill. So, it seems you've begun to respect me. Heh-heh-heh... Maybe... Just maybe... I'm starting to like you three.." Kakashi expressed as he looked down at Naruto.

"...And now...Ready...Set...GO!"

After Naruto's failed attempt to get a bell, she got stuck in a trap created by Kakashi. Sasuke took the opportunity to attack their sensei with kunai and shuriken, revealing his hiding spot to the jounin. Since Kakashi was busy with Sasuke, Sai approached Naruto. He cut the booby trap and made sure Naruto got safely down. After this was completed, he suggested, "I think it would be best to work as a group, rather than separately." Naruto looked at Sai as if he was crazy.

"But there are only two bells!"

"There is no way we can defeat him separately. The only chance we have at defeating him is if we work together. You and Sasuke can take the bells and pass. If I fail, I'll just go back and train with Danzo-sama." Naruto contemplated the options in her head. "I still need to get Sasuke to work with us though." Sai said as an afterthought. Once Sasuke's name was mentioned, Naruto's positive thoughts on the plan vanished into thin air.

"THAT BASTARD! I'M NEVER GONNA WORK WITH HIM~"

"Why not? We need Sasuke to defeat Kakashi. No offence or anything, but we have no chance against Kakashi with just you and me. It'll be the same as if I went solo." The blonde twitched in irritation and tried to ignore the urge to punch the pale man's face.

"I'll never work with that duck-butt! He...he...he..."

The Day Before (Team Assignments)

"Naruto, move it! I'm trying to get around you!" Sakura commanded. Naruto, confused at her instructions, looked around to see Sasuke sitting on the other side of the table.

'_He thinks he's sooooo cool...I hate this guy...' _Naruto hoisted herself on top the desk and squatted right in front of Sasuke, glaring at him. She was right in his face and trying to show her dislike towards him.

"...desperate fangirl..." Sasuke murmured loud enough for only Naruto to hear.

"Why you-!" Before Naruto could finish, a guy sitting in the row before them elbowed her foot, which pushed her forward. Right into Sasuke. Her lips landed on top of his and they locked together. It took a while for Naruto to process what was going on. Before she did, Sasuke pushed her away.

"...See? Just another crazy _fangirl_." Sasuke said after he sighed in irritation.

* * *

Today was the day Sakura and her team were to be tested. The jounin that was in charge of her team was Ibiki Morino, a special jounin. He explained the other day that he was in charge of the torture and interrogation force for Konoha. This only scared her team even more for what was to come. Ibiki told them to meet at one of the practice fields for their test.

They didn't have to wait long for Ibiki to show up (unlike team seven). Their task was identical to the one assigned to Naruto's team. Obtain the bell to pass. Whoever did not have a bell by the time the timer sounded would be sent back to the academy. Sakura was determined to pass no matter what.

'_I have to get strong. In order for Sasuke to recognize me...'_

Once she thought about the task at hand, something didn't add up. She desperately tried to get her teammates to cooperate and work together, but they didn't listen to her. The timer sounded, signaling the end of the test. No one had gotten a bell, which was expected. Ibiki had a talk with them near the stumps.

"You all fail. You'll never pass as a shinobi."

"Why sensei? What did we do wrong? We followed your directions." One boy questioned.

"What you lack is the obvious...teamwork." Sakura clutched her hands in fustration.

'_If only I could have convinced them...'_

"The only one who figured out the purpose of this exercise was Sakura. Go back to the academy and study harder. You'll pass once you learn what you need." All the kids started to walk home sadly after they were dismissed.

"Sakura. I want to talk to you privately." The pinkette turned her head and walked back towards Ibiki. Her head was hung low in shame. How could she have messed this up?!

"Out of the team, I think that you have the most potential. Potential that I could mold to become strong. So, I wanted to ask you..." Sakura's head tilted up to look directly at her sensei's face. She was shocked at his compliments, secretly hoping that he would give her team another chance.

"...would you like to become my apprentice?"

**I apologize for this story's similarity to the original plotline. As the story goes on, there will be plenty of differences. I promise~ It might take some time because I want there to be gradual change. So, please continue to read this!**


End file.
